Natural Flea Protection  |  Make Your Own Flea Deterrent

If Your Pets Have Fleas, They Need Natural Protection Solutions
By Jay Jacovitz

The absolute best natural flea protection solution is to reduce your pet's susceptibility to fleas by improving its health. The healthier your pet is, the less attractive it is to fleas. Parasites and fleas in particular are attracted to weak, unhealthy or young animals whose immune system is not functioning well. The quality of nutrition is a major factor in achieving natural flea protection.

Good nutrition is a tremendous factor in natural flea protection.

A nutritionally complete and balanced homemade diet of fresh, wholesome foods has many benefits including reducing your pet's susceptibility to fleas. This is not as difficult or time-consuming as you might imagine.

Many flea products on the market are not considered natural protection against fleas. Many popularly used products contain ingredients such as carbaryl (Sevin), a nerve-paralyzing chemical that can cause a host of side effects, DDVP (dimethyl dichlorovinyl phosphate), methylcarbamate, rotenone, pyrethrins, and piperonyl butoxide. Piperonyl butoxide is used as a booster in most of the new pyrethrum products. It is associated with liver disorders. DDVP is the chemical found in the majority of plastic flea collars. DDVP numbs an insect's nervous system and, although your dog cannot speak, the chemical can have the same effect on your pet. Flea products containing d-Limonene or citrus oils are considerably safer than those listed above, but still have significant toxicity potential.

Cats are especially sensitive, and dips have been known to be fatal in some instances.

After good nutrition, natural flea protection requires grooming and bathing as the two best ways of getting rid of fleas on your pet, but caution - you can attain natural flea protection without bathing your pet with a chemical flea shampoo that leaves a petrochemical residue on the dog's skin, which is potentially unsafe for the canine and the household. Unlike with a more natural solution, when the pet licks itself, it gets an oral dose of a toxic chemical.

Guardians of dogs or cats who desire a natural flea protection as we all should need to be working on the pet's general health. At the same time, it is necessary to treat the household as well.

Place moth ball crystals in your vacuum bag and vacuum the house thoroughly. Carpets, throw rugs, all floors, corners, upholstery, pillows, sofa cushions, under couches, mattresses, including in the basement.

Seal the vacuum bag securely inside a plastic bag and dispose of it.

Wash all throw rugs, pets' bedding and your bedding in water as hot as the fabric allows.

To kill the tiny pests the vacuuming missed, two natural products for flea protection are diatomaceous earth and borates. Sprinkle garden-grade diatomaceous earth and/or borates in rugs, under sofa cushions, under mattresses and in your pets' bedding. You can rest assured you aren't harming your pets or your family, but you are killing and eliminating fleas.

Use caution in your sprinkling not to create unnecessary excessive airborne dust any more than you would do so if it was baking flour. Dust particles of any sort are not healthy to breathe.

Depending on the severity of the flea problem, comb your dog at least weekly or as much as twice daily. Concentrate on areas around the neck in cats, and on the lower back and belly in dogs. Drop the fleas off the comb in a bowl of soapy water to drown them.

A flea comb is a very fine-toothed comb; the teeth are closer together than the width of a flea. It may be helpful to clip the hair coat short in heavily infested animals to control the problem.

Give your pet a bath to remove most if not all the fleas. Use any quality non-medicated pet shampoo. Leaving a thick lather on your pet for 10-15 minutes will drown the fleas. Be careful not to let small puppies or kittens become chilled or overheated, and don't bathe more than weekly.

You wouldn't put toxic substances on yourself, don't put them on your pet.

Use non-toxic flea protection solutions. That means no flea powders, sprays, collars, shampoos, and dips that are toxic and harmful to your pet; including the newer products that are given by pill or applied to a spot on the skin. Despite the manufacturers' claims of safety, they do not offer natural flea protection, and many problems, some quite serious, have been observed with these products. Why risk the health of your pet? http://www.callofthedog.com/naturalfleaprotection.php Natural flea protection happens by building a strong, healthy immune system in your dog or cat that, in turn, will help them repel the fleas!

We have existed as a company since 1985, but it was a love of dogs, the dogs that have been a part of our life, and the passing of one dog in particular, Rusty, that inspired the creation of http://www.CalloftheDog.com  and http://www.CalloftheDogShop.com  -- created to provide the things your dogs and pets need. Visit us for great information and quality dog supplies! Be sure to see our About Us page as well.

The two sites are dedicated to the dogs we have loved so deeply, and who have given us so much love in return. Purebreds and mixed breeds, but mostly rescues in need of a home. We educated them, but each one has had something to teach us in exchange.

http://EzineArticles.com/?If-Your-Pets-Have-Fleas,-They-Need-Natural-Protection-Solutions&id=982143

 

Make Your Own Flea Deterrent 

Herbal Flea Powder

*This recipe and more flea deterrent, repellants and soaps/shampoos available in our Pet Recipe Cookbook

Use these herbs in powder form

• Eucalyptus

• Rosemary

• Fennel

• Yellow Dock

• Wormwood

• Rue

Using equal amounts of each herb, combine them and mix well.

Place herb mixture in a shaker.

Apply sparingly to your dog while brushing their fur backward with a brush or your hand.  Your goal is to get the powder into the base of the hairs especially on their neck, their back and their tummy area.

Because fleas don't like this rub it is best to use this outdoors and to leave the dog out for a little while as fleas will be jumping off of them to get away from the smell.

For severe infestations use twice a week.

*This recipe and more flea deterrent, repellants and soaps/shampoos available in our Pet Recipe Cookbook